AUTHOR=Liu Yu-Dong , Tang Fang , Li Xiao-Li , Liu Ya-Fei , Zhang Peng , Yang Chun-Lin , Du Tong , Li Heng , Wang Cong-Cong , Liu Ying , Yang Bing , Duan Rui-Sheng 

TITLE=Type 2 diabetes mellitus as a possible risk factor for myasthenia gravis: a case–control study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neurology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neurology/articles/10.3389/fneur.2023.1125842

DOI=10.3389/fneur.2023.1125842

ISSN=1664-2295

ABSTRACT=Abstract
Background - A certain number of myasthenia gravis (MG) patients clinically had type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) prior to MG onset, which suggests that the onset of MG may correlate to the history of T2DM. This study aimed to examine the correlation between MG and T2DM. 
Methods - In a single-center, retrospective, 1:5 matched case-control study, all 118 hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of MG from August 8, 2014 to January 22, 2019 were enrolled. Four datasets with different sources of control group were retrieved from the electronic medical records (EMRs). Data were collected in individual level. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to test the risk of MG associated with T2DM.
Findings – The risk of MG was significantly associated with T2DM, and there were notable differences by sex and age. Whether compared to the general population, general hospitalized patients without autoimmune diseases (AIDs), or patients with other AIDs except MG, women aged over 50 yr with T2DM had an increased risk of MG. The mean onset age of diabetic MG patients was older than that of the non-diabetic MG patients.
Interpretation – This study demonstrates T2DM is strongly associated with the subsequent risk of MG and varies significantly by gender and age. It reveals that diabetic MG may be a unique subtype that is different from the conventional MG subgroup classification. More clinical and immunological features of diabetic MG patients need to be further explored in further studies.